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Addressing the comments of Star56 and yhgtbkm... Many retire when they have accumulated enough service. That being said, there is usually a window of a few years that would be most beneficial for a teacher to retire. That being said, some teachers actually like teaching so they don't retire. That being said, the benefits look to be changing for the worse, so now is the time to get out. Yet studies have been conducted that show that the average teacher works the equivalent of the "full year worker" in those 190 days in regards to hours put in... they earn their money in spades...

#40 - Is your implication that teachers are underpaid at $41,000 for a first year teacher?

Let's review - it's a 185 day work year, compared to the 246 that a salaried employee works. If teachers worked 246 days, that would be $54,000 / year. Common believes that teachers put in a full years work within the school year - which would require a 56hour week, every week. That's 11 hours a day, every workday.

MPS currently pays $0.77 in benefits for every dollar of salary. For these staffers, that raises their total income (deferred salary medical) to $72,570. Please don't tell me that we can't count retirement as part of the package, because teachers are now claiming it's "deferred salary".

Extrapolating that $72,570 to a full year gets us $146,000 in salary & benefits.

A private sector employee, assuming $16,0000 medical insurance and a 2% match on their 401K, would need a salary of $127,000 to compare.

Oh Cubcake... teachers don't work 11 hours every workday... of course not... however, teachers do put in hours on weekends... and yes even hours in the summer... to work in MPS...you do it for a year and tell us if you're underpaid... they are hiring.

Cubcake: Your math is bad. $72,570 to a full year is $96,400, meaning that the private sector employee with the same 16K medical and 2% match is really only sitting at $78,800. If you're going to take the time to do the math, please take the time to check it.

Yes, I know they put in hours on weekends - i was demonstrating how many hours 56 hours / week is. I used to routinely put in 50 or 60 hours / week at my salaried job. My friends who were teachers weren't working nearly as much as I was.

In the IT world, I've seen programmers put in 40 hours by Tuesday. Long hours are common in many industries.

MPS won't hire me - I refuse to move to Milwaukee, and I'm too honest to get a city apartment just for the address.

It's two years grace period for new hires starting this year. And the residency will more than likely be abolished if Alberta Darling has her way. So therefore there is no reason to not apply for a job as a technology instructor.

We're not "acting", commonsense, we see the dollars, we review our childrens' education and we make a judgement on whether the enormous rise in education costs is being relected in better education for our students.

Am I an expert on education? No, even though I come from a family of teachers. But when an English teacher tells me she teaches the kids to "write good" I have to question whether she's overpaid.

And when a teacher inspires the students to learn, and they come home with the latest nugget from that classroom, or two years later still know some finer points of history, I have to question whether he's adequately compensated.

I don't know if teachers are over or under paid. I don't really think that's the major beef. I think many teachers would say that the constant back seat drivers or arm chair quarterbacking done by politicians to garner votes is the main concern.

Salary has gone down, the benefits are more aligned with the private sector. I would think that at this point (or some point in the near future) compensation shouldn't be an issue of contention. At that point, will politicians and the general public not act like they are experts on child development and educational practices?

Actually, the sad thing is when educators act as if they are experts, when they aren't. I actually sat with a group of education PhD's and walked the through their own school reports to show them where they were failing to educate a significan't portion fo their students. They didn't even know that report existed until I asked for it.

I've asked the same group of people how they explain DPI reports that show the trajectory for students declining. ("IE: Of the X number of students who are above grade level, half should be at grade level in 2 years). Really? That's success?

Just FYI - go to the DPI website, find your child's school and open the detailed report. It will show you if kids are improving or just treading water.

Most I know in the private sector get holidays and paid vacation of 6 weeks or more. They do not work much more than a teacher in a year, and if a teacher does summer school they work much more than private sector jobs with no paid vacation. I suppose all of you are willing to give up your holidays and vacation days huh?

$41,000 for eight months of work is great starting pay. And all you need is a degree in education. Not terribly hard to acquire one of those. Don't believe me? Thousands will apply for these awful jobs.

Cub cake yes I am implying 41000 is underpaid for a first year teacher. I know garbagemen that make more than that. Also salary is salary you can't change it based on days worked. Most people in the private sector get 3 weeks or more of vacation, did you figure that in? Also, I never said anything about benefits. Most young people care a lot more about salary. So when are you going to apply?

The liberal comedy continues. Short work days, summers off, 9 months a year of work, the best benefits on the planet, and the best pension on the planet that you are able to receive a decade earlier than any private job.

The unions have done wonders for their minions. But thanks to the sensible Republican legislature in Wisconsin, the old are leaving and the new, without the riches of the past, are joining. With the changes in place, this ship will be righted soon.

You ignorance of the teaching profession seems boundless. Short work days really? Doing lesson plans and grading papers until 9pm or later. It is this kind of ignorance propagated by the right wing that will harm education for years to come.

Hassmer, I worked from 7:00 in the morning until 5:00 each night at school. I taught 5 classes of 40 middle school kids. At home, I corrected papers until 9 or 10 and prepared tomorrow's lessons. On Sundays, I corrected more homework and put grades into the computer system. I could handle the work, but what I couldn't handle was the awful behavior of some of the students and the Superintendent and principals' responses; they basically told me to just "deal with it" because they were not going to suspend the kids who were destroying our school.

There is a fallacy in your logic. You pretend to know without actually experiencing. You should go and get one of those 700 openings in Milwaukee. One year and you will be singing a completely different tune.

PlaygroundK - if the teaching profession is as great and easy as you say, what's stopping you from doing it? Oh yeah. Because you know it isn't as great and easy as you say. You and all the bashers talk like it's a secret club not open to you. IF IT'S GREAT AND EASY, QUIT YOUR JOB AND TEACH.

The number of college students enrolling in teacher training programs is drastically down across the state. There will be a teacher shortage in the next decade. This is going to force districts to raise pay to attract teachers. In the long run walker's changes will end up costing taxpayers money. You can't bash teachers and cut their pay/benefits and expect young people to enter the field....

Rockler - maybe they have no applicants because over the last two years they've gotten a glimpse into whom their future co-workers might be and they don't like what they see. Obnoxious, rude, loud, disrespectful of leadership. Yep, that defines what we've seen in the news coverage at the capitol. It may not define all public school teachers, in fact, I know it doesn't, but it is what we've seen on the news. Perception is reality.

Imagine that. Collective bargaining benefits are about to end and a large chunk of teachers bail. I guess it's really not all about the kids. That's ok though. There are other people who would really love to teach.

I am leaving because I need insurance, and teachers no longer get it. Only enough to cover catastrophies. Schools already have to hire without teaching licenses because of a lack of teachers, who would want a job that pays poorly with no benefits when you have a masters degree. They are so short handed now they pay agencies twice the rate of district employees to provide teachers in some areas, and hire those who are not qualified for others. Welcome to the end of public education, and private education is much worse. You all will be expected to teach your own kids soon. Even those who really love to teach are leaving, because everyone can love to teach in a state where education is valued, and it is not Wisconsin.

Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out. These retirees are DEAD WOOD! Most of them are the overpaid and most senior union hacks that were coasting their way until retirement anyway. Let them go and make way for younger and more skilled and educated graduates to teach our children.

The retirement age won't be 55 any longer, MPS has moved it up to 60 once the contract and Union are done. And the reason the pension is fully funded is because it is well managed, even Scott Walker admitted that.

So here's your chance, all you haters. Starting with fenderguy1, I want the trolls to apply for these positions. Go through the interview, find out what the job description is. Meet the people, see the school, watch the kids go into the building. Please post here, for all to read, why you chose not to take this cushy job, if it is offered to you. Time to man and woman up. Let us know how that goes for you.

Just because I never wanted to be a teacher doesn't mean I can't have a take on a story. Teachers do have good perks. And by the way sportsgeek, I have a bachelors degree from UWM. Sorry to disappoint.